Device for simulating motor sounds in a wheeled toy



J. W. RYAN Feb. 22, 1966 DEVICE FOR SIMULATING MOTOR SOUNDS IN A WHEELED TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 2, 1963 INVENTOR. I'd/6W w 27/ Feb. 22, 1966 J. w. RYAN 3,236,008

DEVICE FOR SIMULATING MOTOR SOUNDS IN A WHEELED TOY Filed Oct. 2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet z Fla-i INVENTOR J'd/M l4. R/l/l/ United States Patent 3,236,008 DEVICE FOR SIMULATING MOTOR SOUNDS IN A WI-[EELED TOY John W. Ryan, Bel Air, Califi, assignor to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Oct. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 313,285 2 Claims. (Cl. 46-191) In general, the present invention relates to a motor sound device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device adapted to emit when operated sounds closely corresponding to the sounds of an internal combustion motor.

In the past, there have been many toy vehicles having devices mounted thereon to simulate a motor sound. The conventional device which has been employed involves a reed fixed at one end and extending free at another end but engaged with a rotating gear wheel so that the reed is vibrated to emit sounds. However, such prior art motor sound devices customarily emitted very highpitched uniform sounds which were far removed from the ordinary internal combustion motor sound of vehicles such as trucks and cars whose motor sound is customarily low-pitched and usually includes a cyclic variation of sound. Furthermore, the usual prior art motor sound device involved a substantial period of contact between the portion of the device emitting the sound and the portion of the device actuating the sound emitter. Thus, a considerable portion of the. vibrational energy was lost and the resulting sound device was relatively ineflicient. Also, prior art motor sound devices usually utilized direct contact between the sound emitter and the actuator for the sound emitter, so that stresses and strains were put on the sound emitter which did not contribute to the volume of the sound being emitted. Consequently, the usual prior art device had a relatively short life because of the intense strains and stresses being put on the sound emitter apart from the function of emitting sound.

Consequently, an object of the present invention is a motor sound device adapted to emit sounds closely corresponding to the sounds of an internal combustion engine.

Another object of the present invention is a motor sound device adapted to produce an instantaneous sharp impact between the sound emitter and the actuator for the sound emitter to minimize the deadening of the sound emitter.

Still another object of the present invention is a motor sound device wherein the sound emitter may be protected from direct contact with the actuator for the sound emitter and thus relieved of unusual stresses and strains.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description and drawings, which illustrate a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention as well as alternative embodiments of the present invention.

In general, the present invention involves a motor sound device having a resonator adapted to emit an internal combustion motor sound when struck. Rotatably mounted adjacent said resonator is an impeller having at least one lug mounted on its periphery adapted to strike said resonator during the rotation of the impeller. Also, the motor sound device has drive means for rotating said impeller. Preferably, mounted between the impeller and resonator is a bridge which is adapted to move solely substantially perpendicular to the resonator and to translate blows thereon to said resonator. Also, preferably, the impeller includes a plurality of lugs spaced around its periphery with each of said lugs being retractably mounted on the impeller and adapted to be extended to strike the resonator or bridge by the centrifugal force exerted thereon by the rotation of the impeller and to 3,236,008 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 ice be retracted by its impact with the bridge or resonator.

In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made to the appended drawings of a preferred specific embodiment of the present invention as well as alternative embodiments of the present invention. Such drawings should not be construed as limiting the invention which is properly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a toy auto containing the motor sound device of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of FIGURE 1, taken along the lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 2, taken along the lines 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 2, taken along the lines 44 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a partially broken-away perspective view of a portion of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a plan view corresponding to FIGURE 4 illustrating an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a partially broken-away perspective VieW' of a portion of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the impeller portion of FIGURE 4 showing an alternate embodiment of the impeller with a variety of lugs mounted thereon.

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the impeller portion of the motor sound device.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of still another alternate embodiment of the impeller portion of the present invention.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the resonator of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, the motor sound device 30 of the present invention may be mounted in a vehicle 20 such as an automobile. The motor sound device in cludes a resonator 31 adapted to emit an internal combustion motor sound when struck. Mounted adjacent the resonator 31 is a bridge 40 adapted to move solely substantially perpendicular to the resonator and to translate blows thereon to said resonator. Also, the motor sound device 30 includes a rotatably mounted impeller 50 having at least one lug 60 mounted on its periphery adapted to strike said bridge 40 during the rotation of said impeller 50 and drive means 70 for rotating said impeller.

The vehicle 20 includes a body 21 with the motor sound device mounted therein. The body 21 is carried by the front axle (not shown) having wheels 22 mounted on its ends and a rear axle 23 having wheels 24 mounted on its ends.

Mounted within the body 20 is the motor sound device 30 having a resonator 31 adapted to emit an internal combustion motor sound when struck. The resonator 31 includes a flexible cone 32 mounted on a frame 33 which is attached to the vehicle body 21. The cone 32 is made from a non-metallic material, such as plastic, as indicated by the cross-hatching in FIGURES 2 and 4, and has a somewhat thinner cross-section 34 adjacent to the frame 33 to increase its flexibility andhas an apex plug 35 adjacent to the remaining portion of the motor sound device 30. The illustrations of the resonator 31 in FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawings are lined for plastic.

Mounted adjacent to the resonator 31 and perpendicularly to the apex plug 35 is a bridge 40 which is adapted to move solely substantially perpendicular to the resonator 31 and to translate blows thereon to the resonator 31'. The bridge 40 includes a rigid strip 41 of tough material such as metal or plastic which is slidably mounted in grooves 42 in the frame 33 of the resonator 31 with the ends 43 of the strip 21 near the bottoms 44 of the grooves 42. Thus, strip 41 is adapted to slide perpendicular to the resonator 31 andis substantially restrained from sliding parallel to the resonator 31.

The impeller 50 is rotatably mounted adjacent to the bridge 40 and has a plurality of lugs 60 spaced around its periphery adapted to strike the bridge 40 during the rotation of the impeller 50. The impeller 50 includes a spindle 51 having an upper reduced end 52 which is rotatably received in a socket 25 of the body 21. Similarly, the spindle 51 has a lower reduced end 53 which is rotatably received in a socket 54 of a case 55 which is mounted on a bridge 26 of the body 21. Mounted around the spindle 51 is a disc 56.

The lugs 60 are retractably mounted on the impeller 50 and adapted to be extended to strike the brige 40 by the centrifugal force exerted thereon by the rotation of the impeller 50 and to be retracted by their impact with said bridge. The lugs 60 include rings 61 loosely mounted on pivot pins 62 attached to the disc 56 of the impeller 50.

The impeller 50 is rotated by a drive means 70 which includes a first gear means 71 mounted on the rear axle 23 of the vehicle 20 and a second gear means 77 mounted on the spindle 51 of the impeller 50. The second gear means 77 is engaged with the first means 71. The first gear means 71 includes a cup gear 72 which is mounted on the rear axle by engaging its central sleeve 73 with a knurled portion 74 of the rear axle 23. The second gear means 77 is produced by forming a gear 78 out of the lower portion of the spindle 51 adjacent its lower end 53. The gear 78 is engaged with the teeth 75 of the cup gear 72. The drive means 7 also includes a fly wheel 79 which is coaxially mounted on the disc 56 of the impeller 50 and forms the connection between the disc 56 and the spindle 51 of the impeller 50.

The operation of the motor sound device 30 of the toy vehicle of FIGURES 1-5 is very simple but yet achieves sounds closely corresponding to the sounds of an internal combustion motor. When the toy vehicle 20 is moved along a surface with its wheels 22 and 24 engaged therewith, the wheels 24 rotate the axle 23. The axle 23 in turn rotates the cup gear 72, the gear 78 and thereby rotates the disc 56 of the impeller 50. The rotation of the impeller 50 extends the rings 61 of the lugs 60 so that they strike the bridge 40. However, when striking the bridge 40, because the rings 61 are loosely mounted on pivot pins 62, they immediately retract after striking the bridge 40 so that the impact of contact therewith is essentially instantaneous. Also, since the bridge is substantially restrained from sliding parallel to the resonator 31 because the ends 43 of a strip 41 are near the bottoms 44 of the grooves 42, the bridge 40 is moved by the impact of the lugs 60 solely substantially perpendicular to the resonator and thereby strikes the apex plug 35 of the cone 32. The cone 32 in turn emits when struck by the bridge 40 a low-pitched sound in a regular cycle depending on the displacement and configuration of the lugs 60 on the impeller 50 so that the sounds produced closely correspond to the sounds of an internal combustion motor.

Many other specific embodiments of the present invention will be obvious to one skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. For example, as illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7, the motor sound device 135 may include simply a resonator 131 adapted to emit an internal combustion motor sound when struck, a rotatably mounted impeller 150 having at least one lug 16$) mounted on its periphery adapted to strike the resonator 131 during the rotation of the impeller 150 and drive means, including an electric motor 170, for rotating said impeller. Also, the

resonator 131 may include a cone 132 which is made of a non-metallic material such as plastic, as indicated by the cross-hatching in FIGURE 6 and which is mounted on a frame 133 with the portion 134 of the cone 132 adjacent the frame 133 being corrugated. In addition, the impeller may include lugs wherein rings 161 are made of a non-metallic material, such as plastic, as indicated by the cross-hatching in FIGURE 7 and are loosely mounted on pivot pins 162 attached to the impeller 160. However, the rings 161 may have a U-shaped cross-section 163 with an outwardly extending flange 164 adapted to strike the resonator 131.

Still other specific embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in FIGS. 8ll. In FIG. 8, the impeller 250 includes a plurality of lugs 260 spaced around its periphery. Each lug includes a ring 261 having a variety of shapes such as substantially ellipsoidal 261a, circular 261b, triangular 261e, and irregular 261d.

Similarly, the pivot pins 262 on which the rings 261 are.

mounted may be spaced varying distances from the center of the impeller 250. In FIG. 9, the impeller. 350 includes a spindle 351 having a bracket 352 mounted thereon with arms 353 extending outwardly. Dependent from the arms 353 are flexible struts 354 supported at the bottom by a flexible brace ring 355. Mounted on the struts 354 are knobs 356 which are adapted to strike the bridge or resonator. In FIGURE 10, the impeller 450 has a spindle 451 on which are mounted a plurality of outwardly extending arms 452 with each of said arms having a knob 453 mounted on the end thereof. In FIG. 11, the resonator 531 is made of a non-metallic material, such as plastic, as indicated by the cross-hatching in FIGURE 11 and includes a cone 532 with an apex plug 533 having a chamber 534 therein. Contained within the chamber 534 are a plurality of freely movable weights 535. The chamber 534 of the plug 533 may be simply formed by capping the chamber 534 in the cone 532 with a cover 536 mounted on the interior surface of the cone 532.

In addition to the foregoing alternate embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that there are many other specific embodiments possible. Thus, the motor sound device may be driven by an electric motor powered by batteries, rather than the mechanical energy stored in a fly wheel or merely a gear drive connected to the wheels of a car being roller along a surface.

There are many features of the present invention which clearly show the significant advance the present invention represents over the prior art. Consequently, only a few of the more outstanding features will be pointed out to illustrate the unexpected and unusual results obtained by the present invention. One feature of the present invention is the utilization of a con-e for a resonator with the cone being freely flexible around its periphery. For example, as illustrated, the cone may be thinned out in cross-section adjacent its support means, or have a plurality of corrugations. In any event, such cone is adapted to emit low-pitched sounds similar to the sounds of an internal combustion motor. Another feature of the present invention is the utilization of a retractable lug which is extended by centrifugal force and then retracted by the force of the impact with the resonator device. With such arrangement, a sudden, sharp impact on the resonator is achieved and deadening of the resonator due to prolonged contact is substantially prevented. Still another feature of the present invention is the utilization of a bridge to translate the blows from the impeller to the resonator which is adapted to move substantially solely perpendicular to the resonator. At lower impeller speeds and with specially designed resonator constructions, it is possible to achieve reasonable periods of use before the resonator is worn out by the impeller without the protection of the bridge. However, with high speed impellers or a simply designed resonator, the resonator is rapidly destroyed by the impeller without the protection of the bridge. Not only does the bridge protect the resonator from the direct impact of the impeller, but also removes the distorting forces imposed on the resonator by the impeller so that the resonator is actuated only in the direction to achieve maximum sound emission. Still another feature of the present invention is the utilization of various sizes and shapes of lugs as well as positions of lugs to achieve a desired cycle of sound. Also, suitable variation of sound may be achieved by loading the resonator with movable weights.

It will be understood that the foregoing description and examples are only illustrative of the present invention and it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto. All substitutions, alterations and modifications of the present invention which come Within the scope of the following claims or to which the present invention is readily susceptible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure are considered part of the present invention.

It is claimed:

1. A device for producing sounds simulating an internal combustion engine comprising: a frame; a vibratory diaphragm fixedly secured to said frame, said diaphragm having a low-pitched natural frequency of about the same pitch as the sound from an internal combustion engine; a rotary member journaled on said frame adjacent said diaphragm; means for rotating said member; eccentrically positioned strikers carried by said rotary member and mounted thereon for limited but relatively free radial movement, said diaphragm being in the form of a cone arranged with its apex portion extending toward said rotary member; a movable bridge between said apex portion and said rotary member, said bridge being a substantially rigid element; means on said frame guiding said bridge for sliding movement toward and from said apex portion in a direction substantially axially of said cone, said bridge being positioned in the path of rotation of said strikers to be struck thereby and impelled into impact with said cone.

2. A device for producing sounds simulating an internal combustion engine comprising: a frame; a vibratory diaphragm fixedly secured to said frame, said diaphragm having a low-pitched natural frequency of about the same pitch as the sound from an internal combustion engine; a rotary member journaled on said frame adjacent said diaphragm; means for rotating said member; said diaphragm being in the form of a cone having an apex portion; a movable cone striking member between said apex portion and said rotary member, said striking member being a substantially rigid element; means in fixed position on said frame and guiding said striking member for reciprocating movement toward and from said apex portion solely in a direction substantially axially of said cone at the point of impact therewith and means operable by said rotary member for impelling said striking member into impact with said cone.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 759,003 5/1904 McCann 46-192 979,061 12/1910 Codd 116-143 1,894,144 1/1933 Anderson 46-98 2,055,848 9/1936 Marx 46-99 X 2,223,119 11/1940 Muller 46-111 2,399,149 4/1946 Sigg 46-192 FOREIGN PATENTS 974,726 4/ 1961 Germany.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Examiner. 

2. A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING SOUNDS SIMULATING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE COMPRISING: A FRAME; A VIBRATORY DIAPHRAGM FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID FRAME, SAID DIAPHRAGM HAVING A LOW-PITCHED NATURAL FREQUENCY OF ABOUT THE SAME PITCH AS THE SOUND FROM AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE; A ROTARY MEMBER JOURNALED ON SAID FRAME ADJACENT SAID DIAPHRAGM; MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID MEMBER; SAID DIAPHRAGM BEING IN THE FORM OF A CONE HAVING AN APEX PORTION; A MOVABLE CONE STRIKING MEMBER BETWEEN SAID APEX PORTION AND SAID ROTARY MEMBER, SAID STRIKING MEMBER 